Am
just back from the concert at the MMRDA grounds and as the Flying Pig
and the pyrotechnics run across my mind, I simply had to write down and
pen my thoughts( and review) of the concert. To be candid, I was
wondering how the vocals would sound without some of the original band
members especially David Gilmour and whether it would be worth the
money. I skipped Roger Waters’ 2002 “In The Flesh” concert for
precisely the same reason. I owed my allegiance to Pink Floyd – Not to
a band member cashing in on their rich legacy….Or so I thought.
This
time around since they were going to perform the DSOTM in full, I just
couldn’t give it a pass. After the concert and the kind of impact it
had on me, I can safely say that the Pink Floyd genre of music goes way
beyond who performs – Gilmour or Waters, Barrett or anyone else. They
have created something which is truly timeless. And Boy – Am I glad I
was lucky enough to watch Roger Waters LIVE! He’s a maniac on stage!
That too at his age!
The gates opened at 1730 hrs
with enormous queues for the mandatory frisking and we were among the
first – Waiting patiently for dusk to set in and for the clock to tick
to 1900 hrs. After a slight delay at about 1920 hrs, the concert began.
The first number was “In the flesh”. He moved on to “Mother”. The full
setlist was:
Set One
- In the Flesh 2. Mother 3. Set
the Controls for the Heart of the Sun 4. Shine On You Crazy Diamond
(Parts II - V)(abridged) 5. Have a Cigar 6. Wish You Were Here 7.
Southampton Dock 8. The Fletcher Memorial Home 9. Perfect Sense, Parts
1 and 2 10.Leaving Beirut 11. Sheep
Set Two - The Dark Side of the Moon
1.
Speak to Me 2. Breathe 3 On the Run 4. Time 5. Breathe(Reprise) 6.
The Great Gig in the Sky 7. Money 8. Us and Them 9.Any Colour You Like
10 Brain Damage 11. Eclipse
Encore
- The Happiest Days of Our Lives 2. Another Brick in the Wall, Part II 3. Vera 4. Bring the Boys Back Home 5.Comfortably Numb
Rather
than make this review sound like a song-by-song praise, I will just say
it was an “Experience of a lifetime”. If the focus on the earlier Mark
Knopfler and the Joe Satriani concerts were on the pure genius of their
guitaring, this was an audio-visual extravaganza – meant to
“comfortably numb” your senses more like a roller-coaster ride except
that this one lasted 155 minutes and at the end of it, you were
feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. For people reading this outside
India, Pl. do not miss the concert when he tours your country. For
those of you who are in India and missed attending the concert, tough
luck. You weren’t destined to!
The guitaring in “Shine on
you Crazy Diamond” was something else. When he sang “Bring the boys
back home” it reminded me of how most of us feel when our Cricket Team
bombs abroad! I wasn’t too happy with “Leaving Beirut” and “Sheep”
being part of the setlist but I can rationalize that these were mere
primers for the DSOTM delight. There was a 15m break before DSOTM was
played out and another small break after Eclipse. In the encore
“Another Brick in the wall” was a huge hit with all of us crying
ourselves hoarse by then! The transition from "Happiest Days of our
lives" to "Another Brick." gave me the Goosebumps! After the frenzy
of "Another Brick." "Vera" was sweetness personified and the
proverbial lull before the "Bring the Boys back home" Storm.
If
I have to criticize the concert I would say though it was a tight
setlist they did not improvise much. Dave Kilminster( who looks a bit
like Rohit Bal!) was quite impressive as well as expressive with his
Guitar. Ian Ritchie’s Sax work was excellent. These were seasoned
players who have perfected their art over time. They were subdued and
allowed the music to speak for itself.
Three Cheers for
the crowd - Very well behaved and quite knowledgeable too. They knew
the lyrics to most of the songs – Not just Dark side. A few idiots
managed to smuggle in fags and were adding to the stage’s smoke
effects. After a while they lost interest in smoking as they got
engrossed in the music.
I now await( with bated breath
) for Santana to tour India! Hanging on in quiet desperation is the
Indian way! The Time has come, the review is over; thought I had
something more to say!
P.S: I will edit this review and improve upon it. Feeling very sleepy. Its 1 AM! Just had to post this
